Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting and its joint venture partner Shanghai CRED have increased their bid to acquire S. Kidman & Co to $386.5 million in an attempt to knock out an all-Australian families' bid to buy the country's largest landholder.

Hancock and Shanghai CRED's joint venture, known as Australian Outback Beef, lodged documentation with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission for its takeover offer.

Western Australian billionaire Gina Rinehart is an investor in Lakes Oil. Jim Rice

In a joint statement Hancock Prospecting and S.Kidman & Co said: "The Kidman directors have carefully considered the increased offer by AOB and have unanimously recommended that Kidman shareholders accept the Offer in the absence of a superior proposal."

Mrs Rinehart said that she would also proceed with the offer regardless of whether the Chinese partner was allowed to be part of the acquisition.

Advertisement

"I stand behind the bid and should FIRB or [People's Republic of China] approvals not be achieved, then Hancock will proceed with the acquisition on a 100 per cent basis," Mrs Rinehart said.

"I hope this provides shareholders with significant comfort and that when they consider the offer they can do so in the knowledge that there is no FIRB or PRC execution risk, and further that we have the money to invest to properly maintain the stations and their hard-working staff," Mrs. Rinehart said.

Chairman of Kidman John Crosby said the Board welcomed the increased offer and acknowledged the strong credentials of the company led by Mrs Rinehart.

"Under the Hancock JV offer the core Kidman business will remain intact and the Kidman staff and legacy will be looked after," Mr Crosby said.

More than 600 interested parties have held discussions with sale manager Ernst & Young since the iconic Kidman landholding went on sale almost 18 months ago.

S. Kidman & Co Ltd is one of Australia's largest beef producers, with an average herd carrying capacity of 185,000 cattle and 10.1 million hectares of land.